Soils, which lie inconspicuously beneath our feet and go unseen by the vast majority of people, are a crucial component of terrestrial ecosystems that support a diverse range of living forms on land, including humans. To the inexperienced eye, dirt may appear dead at first glance and be misidentified as an abiotic component of the physical world. On the contrary, soils are home to a diverse range of organisms, including microscopic bacteria, protozoa, and actinomycetes, as well as insects, earthworms, and small rodents, as well as huge webs of higher plant roots. In fact, soils are so tightly linked to life and organic materials created from living beings that they can be called living entities in their own right.
Soils, like the land on which they are formed, serve a variety of important roles. Not only are they the principal medium for food production to sustain human cultures, but they also provide habitat for a diverse range of plants and animals, allow for the storage and circulation of water, act as a waste receptor, and, in conjunction with vegetation, contribute to climate regulation. Soils can act as both sinks and generators of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides. The phenomena of increased global warming or climate change, which is ascribed to human activities such as forest clearing and the use of fossil fuels as an energy source, could potentially be alleviated by the absorption of atmospheric carbon in soils. This is due to the fact that soils hold around 75% of the terrestrial carbon pool, or approximately 1500 Petagrams (1015g), which is greater than the total quantity of carbon contained in the atmosphere, live plants, and animals combined (FAO, 2001; Lal, 1994). As a result, it is critical to ensure the restoration and maintenance of soils while increasing their productivity in order to feed an ever-increasing global population while also maintaining climatic balance.
This book provides an overview of soil formation processes and prominent soil types in Nepal's diverse physiographic areas. Furthermore, it provides a brief summary of essential soil genesis concepts and soil formation elements that are in use in the country's various agro-climatic zones. Finally, it emphasises the importance of productive soils as well as the need for sustainable land use and soil management. The scope of this book does not allow for a full treatment of soil classification concepts or the classification of soil types found throughout Nepal. It is designed to serve as a general reference for scholars and researchers interested in the primary processes involved in soil development and the prevalent soil types found throughout the country.Author(s) Details
Roshan M. Bajracharya
Kathmandu University, Kathmandu Forestry College, TU, Nepal.
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